1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method and a mold for producing an opening in a fiber composite component for connection to a second, in particular metallic, component.
2. Description of the Related Art
A lightweight structure comprising thin components or sheet-like components of a low weight is sought in vehicle construction, especially in the construction of production motor vehicles. Such components must exhibit adequate stability and also must have high corrosion resistance. However, it is relatively difficult to join add-on parts onto such sheet-like components—for example onto metal sheets or so-called organometallic sheets, such as axle components, hinges or locks for doors, flaps and hoods, in such a way that allows low weight and high stability to be achieved along with the best corrosion resistance. These add-on parts may include connections between bodyshell components or body structures where one component consists of organometallic sheet and the second component consists of aluminum.
Many proposals concerned with the production and the structure of such hybrid constructions have become known from the prior art. DE 600 09 021 T2 and EP 0 721 831 B1 describe methods and devices for assembling two metal sheets by means of injection molding or overmolding with plastics material, it being sought at the same time to achieve a stable connection by re-shaping the sheets in the injection mold.
DE 10 2010 053 960 A1 and US 2011/0031643 A1 describe methods for introducing inserts into metal sheets, for example organometallic sheets, without damaging the fibers. In this case, the insert is introduced into the body component by a mold core while being heated. In DE 10 2010 053 960 A1, the insert also is overmolded with plastic.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,860,425 discloses a method for connecting two metal sheets that are perforated with a punch and then are completely overmolded with plastic.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,956,139 describes attaching a plastic pin to a metal sheet by core deforming the sheet and subsequently overmolding the deformed location with plastic.
GB 1,075,702, U.S. Pat. No. 2,648,177, U.S. Pat. No. 3,354,510, U.S. Pat. No. 3,800,483 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,774,788 show devices and methods for producing sleeve-like components in the case of which the sleeve opening is overmolded with plastic.
Finally, DE 693 15 172 T2 discloses a method for producing electrical circuits by introducing metal inserts into a plastic component. In this case, the metal components placed in a mold are pre-perforated by one or more punches for the electrical insulation of the circuits, and after that are overmolded with plastic with the punches retracted.
The invention was based on the object of providing a method and a corresponding mold suitable for the simple and low-cost production of an opening in a fiber composite component for connection to a second, in particular metallic, component.